Draft Regulations have been published containing details of developments which will be considered "major" in relation to the development hierarchy to be introduced under the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006. The Regulations are due to come into force on 6 April 2009.
There are no great surprises - the categories having been consulted on - but the following is a list of the more significant categories of major development:
- Any development coming under Schedule 1 to the Environmental Impact Assessment (Scotland) Regulations 1999(a), other than exempt development within the meaning of those Regulations;
- Housing developments of 50 or more houses or which are on sites of 2 or more hectares;
- Construction of offices, industrial units, storage and distribution facilities with a gross floor space of 10,000 square metres or which are constructed on sites of 2 or more hectares.
- Electricity generation stations with a generating capacity exceeding 20 megawatts;
- Construction of new or replacement roads, railways, tramways, waterways, aqueducts or pipelines with a length of 8 km or more;
- Fish farms covering a water surface area of more than 2 hectares;
- Any development not falling within one of the other classes of major development where the gross floor space of any building, structure or erection constructed as a result of such development is, or exceeds, 5,000 square metres or which is constructed on sites of 2 or more acres.
There are other categories dealing with waste management and minerals. A copy of the draft Regulations can be found at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/ssi2009/draft/pdf/sdsi_9780111001714_en.pdf
Any development which is neither a national development nor a major development will be a local development, so these Regulations will be significant for determining which of your proposals will be subjected to a simplified process for planning consent, as well as to those which will be subjected to more detailed scrutiny.
Disclaimer
The material contained in this article is of the nature of general comment only and does not give advice on any particular matter. Recipients should not act on the basis of the information in this e-update without taking appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.
